Earth Apples
by thelinksthatconnectus
Summary: Sasha has a deep discussion with Mikasa; after all, someone needs to remind Mikasa that wishes have consequences. Remember the scene where Kyoko took Sakura to the remains of the former church? That's this fic, except with Mikasha.


She balanced the bag of potatoes from one hand to the other. There was a slight bulge in the pockets of her jeans, though Mikasa couldn't get a good look at them; they could be anything - candy, Pocky, even cut up vegetables. With Sasha, there was no telling what she had next.

"Where are you taking me?" Mikasa wrapped her red scarf around her tighter; the sun was beginning to set, and it was getting colder by the second.

"Don't complain," Sasha responded, turning and looking over to her. "We're almost there."

"I don't think that there's anything back there." A chill ran up her spine; she should have worn a heavier coat. Witches were hard to fight enough already without Mikasa's fingers being numb from the cold.

"That's the point."

"What do you mean?"

Sasha's hurried footsteps were her only response; Mikasa hurried her own pace, if only to get her blood flowing. Around them, the land passed them by, the trees blurring into a dark green shape at the edge of Mikasa's eyes.

Not all the land was that way, it seemed.

Sasha stopped once they reached the edge of the burnt, dark soil.

"I heard about this on the news," Mikasa said. "It got Eren and Hanjii really worried; they were both afraid of the wildlife that could have gotten hurt. It didn't help when they found out about the people who had died here; they were devastated."

Sasha looked away from her. "Did the news mention who died?"

Mikasa looked over to her. "I believe that they mentioned some park rangers."

She sighed. "Not just them, but... Well, my dad."

"Your dad?"

Sasha sighed. "Maybe I'm phrasing this the wrong way." She pointed ahead. "If we walked into the distance, we would eventually reach the mountains, and from there a village. I grew up in that village, and it was a fire in the village that eventually burnt down part of this forest. My father started the fire."

"What happened? Did he accidentally not put a fire out?"

Sasha took a potato out of the bag, and then bit into it as if though it were only an apple, skin and all. "My father started the fire on purpose, used up a whole box of matches in fact."

Mikasa didn't reply. Her eyes widened, and she looked away from Sasha. She had fought witches, but she could expect them to do that kind of thing; up until then, she had only known Sasha as a fellow (if eternally hungry) magical girl.

"Want to know why?"

Despite herself, Mikasa nodded.

"He thought that doing it was the right thing." The fading light did nothing to help the shadows around her face. Mikasa had never seen a frown so deep before, or eyes so empty. "He was a cult leader, a guy who tried to save the world. He fought against the so called sins of the world, and people in the village followed him. Hell, even I believed him once." She bit into her potato again; parts of it covered the sides of her lips. "Mikasa?"

"Yes?"

Sasha pulled a potato out of the bag and threw it to her. "Here, you look like you could use something in you. They aren't that good when they're hot, but they're still food. Don't just put it to waste."

Sasha caught it in one hand, and then looked down at it. Was she supposed to thank her?

"As I was saying," Sasha continued, holding her potato up. "We didn't have much food in the village; we either grew it ourselves or caught it, and crops weren't always the best, and sometimes the food was a bit too fast for us to catch. Food is so important." She sighed. "My dad told us to persevere and live without it most days, the asshole. You know, I now have access to lots of food now that I'm not living in a mountain any longer and can get all the food I want at a convenience store. It only cost me my village and the lives of everyone in there, all because my dad thought that I was a witch."

Mikasa's heart had begun to race, though she had hardly moved.

"It's funny," Sasha said. "I'm out there fighting witches and he thinks I'm one. I guess it was good to get away from him."

"Why did you tell me this?" She threw her potato back to her. "What was this supposed to teach me?"

Sasha rolled her eyes, and then held her hand up, catching the potato. "Well, for one, to teach you to appreciate what you have to eat. Second, for you to realize that you only need yourself. You made your wish for someone else, a friend. Though you might think that wish was good and holy, you really just ended up hurting yourself. I made a wish to be able to help my dad, and all that did was get everyone I cared about killed."

"Sasha, you have to realize that my wish-"

"Was a mistake." Sasha threw the potato back. "But it's okay, you can change now. Just remember what I said and your life will be all the better for it."

Mikasa glared at her. "I made my wish for Eren, and I know that I will never regret it!" She squeezed on the potato.

"Oh, boo hoo, you made that wish for your boyfriend."

"He's my family!"

"So was my dad." She shook her head. "Look, it seems that I can't convince you. Please, just promise me one thing."

"What? Why should I promise anything to you?"

"Eat that potato yourself," she said. "Don't give it to someone else, not when you yourself need to eat."

"You selfish-"

"Just do it." Sasha turned away. "I won't bother you about it any longer. Just think about what I said, okay?"

Mikasa didn't reply. She turned away, thoughts forming of all the things that she would do with her new magical abilities, all the people that she would help. They wouldn't just be Eren or Armin, but everyone. People could sleep safely at night because Mikasa was out there protecting them, even if they didn't know it.

Mikasa glared down at the potato; if Eren or Armin asked about it, she would say that it was the only one that looked decent enough to buy at the grocery store as ever. It was a believable lie as any; besides, neither needed to know the truth. They were safer off being in the dark.


End file.
